Franz Graumann
Franz Wilbur Graumann (b. April 18, 3688) is a former Staatsminister of Hulstria & Gao-Soto. He was a member of the classical liberal LVP, where he belonged to the rightmost faction which combines libertarian ideology and populist appeal. He later co-founded the LBU. Graumann was born in Weinzobelsdorf, a small village (~5,000 inhabitants) in rural Budenlar, where he lived until the age of 14, when he was sent by his parents to live with his wealthy uncle in Labsburg, the Crownland's bustling capital, where he attended a prestigious private school. After graduating from school, he studied business administration, obtaining his B.A. in 3612. Subsequently, he underwent a two-year apprenticeship after which he became a realtor in Kien. He became politically involved in 3621, as he was supportive of Klaus Zinnberger, then lead candidate of the LVP in that year's general election, who he knew personally through his profession as he had sold him an inner-city apartment when he had moved from rural Mitrania to the capital. In 3626, he was elected to the Landtag of Hulstria Crownland, and was appointed to the newly-created post of "small business spokesman" of the local LVP. In 3628, Graumann wanted to run for an Imperial Diet seat in Hulstria on the party list, but Chairwoman Ariane von Gehrfeld forbade this as she actively purged Zinnberger confidants from the LVP caucus. He then switched to Budenlar, where the local LVP branch was more independent-minded and allowed him to stand in the rural constituency of Gaißburg-Altschneis, a former HDV stronghold which became a marginal seat after the Hosian Democrats' meltdown in 3626. Graumann ran a populist and down-to-earth campaign, touring pubs and inns and holding speeches on village squares. He eventually won the seat with 42%, a gain of 11 percent which helped to bolster the LVP's plurality in Budenlar by extending it beyond urban constituencies. In the diet, he remained a backbencher until 3638, when he was made internal affairs spokesman, a post usually reserved for lawyers but given to him as a concession to the Budenlar wing of the LVP which felt underrepresented during the era of Ludwig Kirchgasser. Additionally, he became deputy parliamentary leader after the 3643 general election, a position in which he routinely clashed with his superior, Erik Fuchswalder. When the Budenlar wing of the LVP called for a government coalition between LVP and the right-wing populist NBF under exclusion of the HDV, Graumann unexpectedly came to play a key role in the ousting of Ludwig Kirchgasser, after which the then-unknown parliamentarian became LVP Chairman, defeating ex-Finance Minister Hans-Georg Tannhofer narrowly. He then succeeded Kirchgasser as Staatsminister in a Yellow-Blue right-libertarian coalition. Graumann's government, which maintained a populist rhetoric, passed various reforms decreasing the size of government and abolishing regulation, such as legalizing privately-owned gated communities, looseing gun control laws, privatizing the national grid, abolishing advertisement restrictions and legalizing nuclear power nationwide. However, the LVP was overruled on the issue of prostitution, where the NBF joined with the opposition to ban it, which caused a short coalition spat. Another round of tax cuts was also passed. In the general election of 3648, the coalition lost its majority, but since the opposition remained divided, Graumann and his deputy Werner Luscher decided to carry on with a minority government, which policy-wise did not achieve much. In September 3650, Luscher for the first time floated a merger proposal between LVP and NBF, citing their increasing ideological similarity. Graumann reacted approvingly, but demanded membership plebsicites on both sides. In late 3651, after both parties' bases had voted yes on the merger, LVP and NBF dissolved and merged into the newly-formed LBU. Most of the LVP membership (~91%) followed the move and subsequently became LBU members. After the merger, Graumann remained Staatsminister and Chairman of the new party until 3657 and 3658, respectively, winning a historic plurality in the 3653 election and subsequently presiding over a fairly uneventful tenure save for some clashes with Indrala which accused the LBU government of "westernization". In 3657 he handed over the party leadership to Werner Luscher, who also replaced him as Staatsminister after the election one year later.